RESTON, Va. — Tornado damage could be found scattered along a four-mile path in Reston, close to the Herndon boundary line on Saturday. The National Weather Service officially reports the tornado that touched down Friday at 8:55 p.m. was an EF-0 with an estimated maximum wind speed of 70 miles per hour.
National Weather Service Science and Operations Officer Steve Zubrick said Saturday the tornado did not follow a continuous path through Reston, but rather, jumped around striking certain areas. Zubrick said one house on Quietree Drive had a tree fall on the back deck and puncture the roof.
As of Saturday morning, the resident was still living in the house. Another house in the area had a tree fall on the roof, but it didn't appear to be directly related to the tornado, according to Zubrick.
Zubrick began surveying the damage on Friday night.
"I fairly quickly decided that it was tornadic here in Reston based on what I saw," said Zubrick.
Zubrick said most of the damage he saw was tree damage a few places where shingles were missing from homes.
"These trees are very large," he said. "They probably weigh five tons when the come down and a house is just no match for them."
On Center Harbor Road, a large tree fell on a truck, crushing it. The owner said he was thankful the tree fell on his vehicle and not his house, which was just feet in the other direction.
Ben Muscolino lives on Quietree Drive in the Whisper Hill neighborhood. He said the storm was loud and in and out very fast. Those in his home immediately took cover in the basement with the dog.
"A few minutes later and we had about a five unit response of fire trucks and an ambulance back here," said Muscolino.
While Muscolino had some tree damage to his property, his house was okay Saturday morning.
"I was surprised by just how debris came down in such a short period of time," said Muscolino. "I think it was only a couple minutes worth of wind and we had this tree come down, and [my neighbor] had the deck detached from her house."
A spokesperson for Fairfax County Fire and Rescue said there were no reports of injuries after Friday night's storm.